I buy books by the ton and if I see them on special offer - I'm there with my money. But when it's buy one, get one half price and I already have an odd number in my arms, sometimes I make an impulse buy without looking too hard at the blurb.
Wendy Moore's 'Wedlock' - How Georgian Britain's Husband Met His Match - is my fortunate mistake.
I was hooked by the great title but if I'd looked a little closer and seen it was non-fiction - I wouldn't have bought it. Not my thing. But I brought it on holiday and today I read it.
Wow.
Another word.
Brilliant.
If I'd written this as fiction, it would never have been believed. It's the tale of an absolute charming brute of a husband and the terrible cunning with which he tricks his way into marriage and then abuses his wife, and the way she eventually escapes his tyranny and he gets his comeuppance - sort of.
I love regency romances and this was like the primer for them. The only snag is, the men don't come off very well in this story and I do so love regency heroes. I knew a little about the lack of rights for women at this time, the way their husbands controlled everything but this book brings home the sad reality of their lives when marriages didn't work out. It's a tale of triumph over the odds by a remarkable woman and I am so glad I made that mistake in the bookshop.
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